Nightmares
by SerpentWinged
Summary: Tripp has a nightmare about his dad. Derek, Ash and Burger are always there for him. FLUFF ALERT.


**Okay! This is a small spin off from my story; 'Our Kid'. It's basically Derek, Ash and Burger staying up with Tripp after he has a nightmare about his dad. If you have any requests for interaction between Tripp and the band, then please leave me a review stating what you want!**

Tripp turned in his sleep, his eyes clenched shut and sweat dripping down his face and on to his nose. His vision was blurred in his sleep... the focus was on just one figure.

_"Did you ever wonder why I left?" _

"No, dad..." Tripp moaned into his pillow. His hands clenched into fists.

_"You are a disappointment to me, boy! I wouldn't have gone if it weren't for you!"_

"No! Dad, please! I'm sorry!" Tears mixed in with the sweat on the teen's face.

_"You're mother feels the same. Ever wonder why she is away so much? She can't stand to look at the boy who sent her husband away."_

His fathers voice was mocking, and so full of hatred.

_His father turned around , and slowly started walking away. Tripp called for him, but he did not turn back. _

But his voice rung through Tripp's head as he sat jolt upright in bed, breathing heavily and sweating.

_"You're band hates you, too..."_

Those words hurt more than anything else. His band - Derek, Ash and Burger - were his everything now. They had acted like his guardians all the time his mother was away. Tripp threw the covers off of himself and contemplated going downstairs for a hot chocolate. _No, _a voice in the back of his head told him firmly. _You need to speak to someone. _He walked from his bedroom, and slowly crept through the hallway, down to the band's room. He manoeuvred around the various piles of who knows what that littered the floor. He knelt beside Derek's bunk and nudged him gently.

"Derek," Tripp whispered. The older man groaned and turned to face Tripp, still asleep.

"Five more minutes, mummy." He muttered, hugging his pillow. Tripp poked him again. Derek opened his eyes groggily and stared at Tripp. "Kid? What's wrong?"

"I had a nightmare." Tripp said quietly, looking down. Derek looked the kid over. His face had covered in tear stains, and his shoulders were hunched forward, as if he were embarrassed. The singer knew what to do. He kicked the bunk above him, jolting Burger awake.

"Wha..?" He asked sleepily. He leant over the side of the bunk to stare down at Derek, not noticing Tripp. "Dude, what was that for?"

"The kid had a nightmare," Derek said, gesturing to teenager knelt beside him.

"Ooooh…" Burger said in understanding. He kicked the bunk above him. "Ash, wake up!"

"No, penguins don't eat my pants!" Ash said, in the middle of his own nightmare. Burger kicked his bunk again, and Ash jerked awake. "That was awesome." He said, looking straight ahead. After a few seconds he looked over the side of the bed at Derek, Burger and Tripp.

"What's up?" Ash noticed Tripp's tear stained face and frowned. "Why's Tripp crying?"

"The little man had a nightmare." Burger told him. Derek slid out from his bunk and perched on the floor next to Tripp.

"Tell us what it was about."

"It was my dad." Tripp said quietly. "He was telling me he didn't want me, and that he hated me." Derek frowned, and then pulled Tripp onto his lap.

"Kid, your father loves you." The singer told Tripp quietly.

"Yeah bro, every father loves his son." Ash told him.

"You haven't met him, though. And I haven't seen him since I was three years old. In the dream, he told me the reason he left was because I was a disappointment to him. And that the reason my mother's always gone is because she is too." Tripp sniffed. Resting his head against Derek's chest. Derek, Ash and Burger exchanged worried looks. If the kid started to believe what his dad had said in the dream, then who knows what could happen?

"Tripp, you can't think that's true." Ash said, sliding off his bunk to sit across from Tripp. Burger ducked out of his bunk and sat next to Ash.

"I don't know…" Tripp said so quietly, the band had to lean in to hear what he'd said.

"Tripp, your mother and your father _do_ love you." Ash told him, putting a hand on Tripp's shoulder. "Just like the penguins love my pants." Tripp gave a watery laugh, twirling his pyjama top in his fingers.

"Come on kid, cheer up." Derek said as he gently rubbed his hand up and down Tripp's arm.

"You know, I'm reminded of my uncle Otis."

"Your uncle Otis had bad dreams?" Derek asked.

"No, he just did random stuff to make people laugh." Ash told them.

"What do you mean by that?" Tripp asked. Ash grinned, leant forward and skimmed his fingers over Tripp's side, making him laugh and squirm away.

"_That _is what I meant." Ash said proudly. Tripp wiped the tears from his cheeks with his sleeve, giving Ash a watery smile.

"Thanks guys." Tripp said sincerely.

"Well kid, you're our family now, and families stick together." Derek nodded.

"Yeah little man, we've got your back." Burger told him, smiling.

"Always here for you, bro." Ash agreed with a grin.

And later on in the evening, Tripp fell asleep on Derek's lap, a smile encrusted on his face in the knowledge he had not just one dad that loved him, but four.


End file.
